Palestinian official says Gaza armed groups will end round of fighting if Israel reciprocates

GAZA (Reuters) - A Palestinian official said on Thursday that armed groups in Gaza would stop the latest round of fighting with Israel if Israel ceased its attacks on the enclave.

The official, at a joint command centre in Gaza, said the groups, in cross-border violence over the past two days, had been "responding to crimes" by Israel - a reference to the killing on Tuesday of two gunmen from the Hamas militant organisation.

"Factions of the resistance consider this round of escalation over as far as we are concerned, and the continuation of calm depends on the behaviour of the occupation," the official said, using militant factions' term for Israel.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Jeffrey Heller)